1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the outline of a camera and more particularly to a camera outline which facilitates handling and use thereof.
2. Descrpiton of the Related Art
In the past, a drawback has become apparent when a photographer holds a camera with the fingers and carries out photography: a hand tremor occurs readily, or a photographer soon gets fatigued because of the shape of the camera that is hard to hold. When a zoom optical system is used as a lens array, a lens barrel itself gets heavier to make the drawback more critical.
As a technological means for resolving the foregoing drawback, U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,822 has proposed a camera offering an improved holding characteristic. This camera includes an opening that is located in a camera body and defines a film screen, and a lens barrel located in front of the opening and extended forward of the camera body. The camera further includes a projection located behind the opening, a grip that is located on one side surface of the projection, whose back end is located foward of the back end of the projection, and that is gripped with the fingers of a photographer's hand during photography. The other side surface of the projection has a flat portion that is substantially even with the side surface of the lens barrel. Owing to this outline, when the camera is held with the fingers of one hand, the arm will not part from the body. Moreover, when a viewfinder optical system is looked into, the fingers will not interfere with the face. The camera permits an excellent holding characteristic even when it is held with the flngers of one hand accompanied with those of the other hand.
However, in the foregoing conventional camera, when the camera is held, the tlps of the flngers holding the grip stay in a space formed between the grip and the lens barrel. When a lens permitting a high zooming ratio or low f-numbers is to be installed in a camera, the diameter of a lens barrel cannot help being large. The above space therefore gets narrower. When the grip of the camera is held, the finger tips can hardly enter the space.
In a camera for which a small-diameter Parrone can be employed, the Parrone chamber has a small diameter and the grip lies closer to the lens barrel. Even in this camera, the foregoing space Is narrow. When the grip ls held, the finger tlps can hardly enter the space.
On the other hand, when a grip is located closer to a camera body in order to realize a compact camera, the aforesaid space is narrow. The aforesaid problem occurs.
As mentioned above, the holding characteristic of a camera has not been very good. The advantages provided by upgrading the stability in holding a camera; such as, decreased occurrence of a hand tremor and other photographic errors, ease of holding, and fatigue-free photography have not been available.